by Jessica Beck
Denise must not have found it very funny. “If they damage this lockset, they’ll have to answer to me.”
Jake started toward George’s office, but I lingered for a moment. “May I ask you something, Denise?”
“Go ahead and shoot, as long as you don’t mind me working while we chat. I’ve got a list a mile long to do today, and this isn’t helping matters any.”
“What do you think of Van Rayburn?” I asked.
Denise frowned for a moment before answering. “It’s not my policy to answer questions like that, Suzanne,” she said, clearly scolding me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, sorry that I’d pushed her. “I was just curious.”
“No worries.” She frowned at the door for a moment before she added, “But since we go way back, I will say that I wouldn’t trust him any farther than I could throw him. The truth is that I’m not a big fan of politicians in general.”
“You certainly chose an odd place to work,” I said.
“Does that opinion include the mayor?” Jake asked her.
She smiled at the first mention of George. “Him I like. He used to be a cop, you know.”
“We do,” Jake said. “As a matter of fact, so did I.”
“I know that, too,” she said as she winked at Jake. “Now, if you two will excuse me, this doorknob isn’t going to install itself.”
As she got to work, Jake and I moved away from her, but we weren’t ready to tackle the mayor just yet.
We needed to find somewhere we could compare notes on what we’d found first. I tugged on Jake’s arm and said, “Care for a quick stroll downstairs?”
“George is waiting for us, remember?” my husband reminded me.
“He can wait a little longer,” I insisted. “We need to share what we found in there with each other before we tell anyone else.”
“Did you find something related to him?” Jake asked.
“Downstairs,” I insisted.
“Okay,” Jake agreed. We headed for the stairs, and once we were on the ground level, I found an unoccupied bench in the hallway.
“Over there looks good,” I said, and we claimed our seats.
“Do you want to go first, or should I?” Jake asked.
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to wait for my turn. “Let me,” I said as I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through the photos I’d just taken in Van’s office.
“Look at this,” I told Jake as I thrust my phone toward him.
“It’s a formal letter of impeachment,” Jake said in wonder. “Van was trying to get rid of George, wasn’t he?”
“That’s what it looks like to me. It’s still blank, though. Maybe he changed his mind about going after the mayor.”
“Based on everything I’ve heard about Van, I’m guessing that he just hasn’t had time to fill it out yet. This doesn’t look good for George.”
“We have to tell him about it,” I said. “And Chief Grant needs to know, too.”
“All in good time,” Jake said. “What else did you find?”
“A credit card bill that backs up what we’ve heard about the man. It appears that Van really is stone cold broke, if this is any indication. I’d like to take some time to go through his charges, but suffice it to say that the overall picture is pretty bleak.”
Jake shook his head when he saw the charged amount. “I’m having trouble believing that anyone can run up a bill that high in just one month. That’s good detective work, Suzanne. Did you find anything else of interest?”
“I also stumbled upon the creepiest greeting card I’ve ever seen in my life,” I said. As I pulled up the photos of Vivian’s card, I said, “It’s certainly not what I was expecting.”
“Funny, but it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Jake said after reading the sentiment expressed inside. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s it,” I admitted. “Now, let’s see what you came up with.”
Jake pulled out his own phone as I put mine away. “I found two things that could be important,” he said as he showed me the photos. The first one was of a handwritten letter Van had composed but not sent yet, though it had a stamp and an address on the outer envelope. It was addressed to his sister, and the next photo showed the letter itself. “Noreen, I’ve told you before, but it bears repeating. I am through bailing you out. If you’re going to keep getting yourself in these financial messes, you’ve got to take responsibility for your own actions. It’s like I told you today when we had lunch, you’re not getting another dime from me, so you might as well stop asking.”
“Wow, she must have really been pushing him for money,” I said.
“And what’s more, he keeps turning her down. Motive for murder, perhaps?”
“You know it. He might have been refusing her because he’s broke himself, but it appears that he hasn’t told Noreen that yet.”
“What else did you find?” I asked him.
Jake frowned for an instant before he spoke. “You’re not going to like this one.”
“I can handle whatever it is,” I told him.
Jake nodded as he pulled up the last photo on his phone. It was an invitation to dinner from Gabby, written in her distinctive hand, promising a meal beyond his dreams. That wasn’t the bad part, though.
Van had scrawled across the face of the note, “Dump her ASAP!”
“There you are,” George said as he suddenly loomed in front of us. “Did you forget about me?”
“We were just on our way up,” I said.
“Save your lies for your real suspects, Suzanne,” George said with a grin. “Let’s take a walk, shall we? This place has too many folks eager to see me fall.”
Chapter 9
“So, what did you find?” George asked us as we all sat out on the bench by the town clock. That particular spot had some bad memories for me, but then again, there was barely a place left in April Springs that didn’t call up something that I would rather forget. To be fair though, there were also so many happy memories in town that I tried to dwell on instead. Not three hundred yards from the spot where we now sat, I’d taken my first bike ride, had my first kiss, and earned my first real money as a grown-up.
“You’re not going to like it,” Jake said, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Why would I expect otherwise? Did the man have a voodoo doll of me in his desk drawer?”
“No,” I said, “but we did find a form for a formal impeachment.”
George stood suddenly and started pacing near us. “That idiot was actually going through with it? I thought he’d gotten over that weeks ago.”
“What was there for him to get over?” Jake asked softly.
“Van accused me of taking bribes in exchange for my influence. Tell me, what influence do I have worth paying for? I told him he was way off base, and I thought he’d forgotten all about it.”
“Evidently not,” I said. “That form was on top of his desk, so it appears it was on the top of his to-do list. That doesn’t look good for you.”
“Don’t you think I know that, Suzanne?” George protested loudly.
“Take it easy, Mr. Mayor,” Jake said evenly. “We’re all on the same side here, remember?” My husband had a way of speaking softer than normal and getting more attention than if he’d been shouting. It was something I would have loved to learn how to do myself.
“Sorry,” George told me, and I nodded in acceptance. “It’s just so frustrating. I wish Van could remember who attacked him and get me off the hook. You wouldn’t believe the calls I’ve been fielding already.”
“I’m guessing they aren’t offering you their support,” I said.
“A few of them are, but most of them are implying that I’m not fit to be mayor if I go around attacking everyone who disagrees with me. It’s like they don’t even know me.”
“I know it’s difficult, but you really have to keep your cool, now more than ever,” I said.
“I get it. It’s just easier said than done.”
“You need to find a way to make it happen, though,” Jake admonished him.
“So, what else did you uncover?” George asked. “Was there anything else about me? I’m surprised Van didn’t have a frame-up all ready for me.”
“We didn’t find anything in his office, but we haven’t searched his cottage yet,” Jake said.
George’s frown grew even deeper. “Do you think there’s something there, too?”
“Who knows?” Jake asked. “We won’t know until we get in, though I’m not exactly sure how we’re going to accomplish that.”
“You’ll think of something. I’m sure of it,” George said. “So, what did you uncover about my fellow suspects? You’ve got to at least give me something to make my day go a little better.”
I was about to say something when someone called out to us from across the street.
Chief Grant was striding purposefully toward us, and it didn’t appear that he just wanted to pass the time of day.
“Mr. Mayor, do you have a second?” the chief asked as he neared us.
“We’re kind of in the middle of something,” George said. “Can it wait?”
“It’s okay. Go talk to him,” I said, taking the opportunity to get away. I wasn’t all that thrilled about sharing our new information with the mayor, and the police chief had just given Jake and me a perfect excuse. “We’ll catch up with you later.”
“Actually, I’d appreciate it if you’d stick around as well,” Chief Grant said. “Why don’t you wait for me across the street?”
“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of them,” George said firmly.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive,” the mayor said.
“Fine. Have it your way. Van is starting to remember the attack,” Chief Grant said.
“Don’t tell me. He thinks I did it, doesn’t he?”
“It’s nothing that concrete. Early this morning he was eating a bowl of ice cream when someone came to his door. He remembers opening it to see who it was, but that’s when everything fades to black.”
“Why are you telling me this?” George asked. “I wasn’t there, and I certainly didn’t do it, so I can’t help you.”
“I just thought you’d want to know,” the chief said. Was that really true, though? He’d been watching the mayor carefully as he’d told him that Van’s memory was coming back. Was he hoping to see some kind of slip in the mayor’s demeanor? I was beginning to believe that the police chief was actually entertaining the possibility that George had actually attacked his political rival!
“Well, you told me, so now I know,” George said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we were just discussing something else.”
“Is it related to the attack on Van?” the chief asked.
I could see George start to deny it, something that I was determined not to let happen. “Yes,” I blurted out before the mayor could contradict me.
George didn’t look particularly happy about my interjection, but there was nothing he could do about it at that point.
“Is there something you need to share with me, Suzanne?” the chief asked.
I made an executive decision on the spot, without consulting George or Jake. “Yes. We were looking around Van’s office, and we found several things that you are going to want to know about.”
Jake frowned for just a moment, but as quickly as that, he was on board. “It should help broaden the scope of your investigation.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll be the judge of that,” the chief said, openly scowling. “That was the second reason I was hunting the mayor down. Denise told me that he had a key to Van’s office. I didn’t realize you two already beat me to it.”
“We didn’t take anything, if that counts,” Jake said.
“Nothing but photographs,” I amended.
It was Jake’s turn to glance at me askance. Apparently I wasn’t making either man very happy with me.
“You know what? I’m not going to do this on the street corner. Come with me.”
“Are you talking to me or them?” George asked.
“To all of you. Come on. Let’s go.”
We really had no choice but to follow the chief of police across the street and back inside city hall.
Once we were in front of Van’s office, the police chief turned to the mayor and held out his hand. “The key, please.”
George found the proper key, and after the door lock was taken care of, Chief Grant held out his hand. “I’ll take that, if you don’t mind.”
“I need these keys,” the mayor protested.
“You don’t need Van’s. As far as I’m concerned, you can keep the rest. Just give me his key.”
George clearly didn’t like it, but he didn’t really have any choice, either. Taking the key off his ring, he handed it over grumpily. “Let’s go see what this is all about.”
The chief didn’t budge, though. “I’m sorry, but you can’t come in.”
That was the last straw as far as George was concerned. “Need I remind you, Chief Grant, that you serve at my pleasure? I can fire you without notice if I’m so inclined.”
“Sure, you can get rid of me, and a part of me wishes that you’d do just that, but you can’t tell me what to do. I’ll run this investigation, and my entire department, as I see fit unless and until I am relieved of my duties. Do I make myself clear?”
I glanced over at Jake and saw him trying to hide a smile. I was positive my husband would have reacted the exact same way if he’d been in Chief Grant’s position.
George scowled for a moment at being balked, and then he said in a huff, “Never mind. I’ve got things to do myself, important things.”
He turned and headed to his office without another word to any of us.
Jake nodded in the chief’s direction. “Nicely handled.”
“You taught me yourself that I can’t afford to let anyone push me around while I’m on the job.” Jake started to smile until the chief added, “That includes you, too.”
“I wasn’t pushing you around,” Jake protested.
“Maybe not, but you were pushing your luck instigating that lock change and then snooping around while you waited for Denise to get the new hardware.”
Jake shrugged. “We didn’t see any harm in it.”
“I suppose not, but I should have seen the place first,” the chief admitted. “The problem is that I’m being pulled in so many different directions at the moment that I can’t do everything!”
“That’s why you need to delegate,” Jake said softly.
“I have good people on my staff, but there’s not a single one of them that I would trust with this investigation.”
“Sometimes you have to let go, though,” Jake added.
“Maybe. If so, I haven’t acquired the knack yet.”
“Do you need us for this?” I asked the chief. “If you don’t, we have some things we should be doing ourselves.”
“Sorry, but that’s going to have to wait. You two are coming inside with me. I want to see what you found, firsthand.”
It was most likely a little unorthodox, but he was the chief of police, so what choice did we really have?
“I’m not going to repeat the steps you took. I don’t have time for it. What exactly did you find significant?” he asked as he stared at the messy office. “Suzanne, you go first.”
I picked up the impeachment form and handed it to him. “I suppose this is first on my list.”
The chief took it, studied it for a second, and then handed it back to me. “It’s blank.”
“Apparently Van has been threatening to impeach
the mayor for some time.”
That caught Chief Grant by surprise. “On what grounds?”
“Selling his influence,” Jake said.
That got a momentary grin from the police chief. “I can’t imagine it being worth much.”
“Not to play devil’s advocate, or try to hang my friend, but you’d be surprised,” I said. I didn’t particularly want to share my views with the police chief, but he needed to know how serious the charge could be. “The last mayor was murdered over doing something exactly like that,” I said. “You’d be shocked by how much sway the mayor has. He can influence a great many things, some of them worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the right people. You need to take the charge seriously.”
“So I gather,” the chief said as he nodded. Jake looked at me and nodded as well, offering his approval of my disclosure. After all, it wouldn’t do to be caught holding back the form’s significance later. “What else did you find?”
I pulled out the threatening greeting card from Vivian and handed it to him. He took it, flipped it open, and frowned as he read the message inside. “She sounds like a real prize, doesn’t she?”
“If I got a card like that, I know that I’d certainly be watching my back,” I said.
“What else?”
“We found Van’s credit card bill,” I said as I retrieved that as well.
The chief seemed reluctant to take it. “That’s his private property.”
“I know that, but it proved one rumor we’ve heard that the man is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
“It’s as bad as all that?” the chief asked.
“You can either take my word for it or see for yourself,” I said.
The chief nodded, opened the statement, and quickly took in the gist of it. “That doesn’t help explain why someone attacked Van.”
“Unless he owed money to more than a credit card company,” Jake said suddenly.
We hadn’t even discussed that possibility up until that moment, but I could see why Jake might suspect it. Why hadn’t that thought even occurred to me? It was certainly something else we needed to consider.
